Bravo’s Real Housewives of New York might be settling into its fabulous new era, but there will always be a part of us that longs for RHONY past—no matter how perfectly cast its new reboot seems to be. Sure, the ever-rotating Housewives of RHONY classic had their many issues (philandering dads, a blackface incident, repeated misunderstanding of how eating disorders work), but when the cast was good, they were so good. The original RHONY is up there with Bravo’s funniest Housewives franchises, Real Housewives of Atlanta and Real Housewives of Potomac. There was just something about the frenemies in New York that made for constantly compelling and endlessly rewatchable television.
While the new Housewives might already be getting up to some hilarious hijinks, it’s important that we don’t forget the lewd, hard-drinking, combative women that paved the way for this series. Before the RHONY reboot moves the original series too far into the past, it’s time for a little stroll down memory lane with the franchise’s 13 funniest moments. And no, this is not your average list; Real Housewives of New York was the show that brought me into the Bravo fold, and I’d be remiss not to highlight the franchise’s best scenes—both those moments you know and love, and those you might not even remember but will never be able to forget. Pack your bags, we’re going to the fish room!
There’s Something About Those Upstate Girls
Season 9’s cast trip to Vermont is filled with calamities. But there’s no funnier moment than when Ramona Singer simply asks Sonja Morgan to bring her a glass of water. Sonja assumes that Ramona wants something fancy and bottled, but just brings her tap water instead. To try to disguise it, Sonja lingers out of Ramona’s eye line and says, “These new Evian bottles are so hard to open!” Ramona responds by saying that she’d rather have mountain water. To avoid being caught in her lie, Sonja—the vaudevillian performer that she is—pretends to go get different water, counting on her fingers so Ramona thinks that Sonja is actually doing as requested. Sonja returns with the water that was always from the tap and proudly says, “Wow! I just took a taste of this amazing mountain water.” It’s so silly that it could only be a Sonja Morgan stunt.
Put This In the Anna Nicole Smithsonian
In Season 6, Heather Thomson’s friendship with Aviva Drescher quickly disintegrates after Heather sees how Aviva treated the other Housewives in Season 5. When the two women meet to hash it out, Heather voices her complaints, saying, “You said Sonja was on a downward spiral like Anna Nicole Smith.” Aviva tried to walk back her comment by saying that the comparison was “a huge compliment.” Heather immediately replies, shocked: “She died, Aviva! That’s not a compliment.” And Aviva was left with nothing to do but wipe the egg from her face.
Watch Out For Falling Countesses
No collection of the funniest RHONY moments is complete without Luann de Lesseps falling not once but twice during the cast trip to Mexico in Season 9. Luann got so blasted on margaritas that she took a dive into a rose bush. Luann then tried to walk it off, tripping over herself a second time onto the hard stone pavement. Miraculously, the Countess walked away from both falls with nothing bruised but her ego.
Leah McSweeney-Baldwin
Season 13 is notoriously RHONY’s worst season, but it did give us Eboni K. Williams’ dinner party where she matched her white castmates with significant Black historical figures to try to encourage them to learn more about Black history. Leah McSweeney was given James Baldwin. And to compare the founder of a streetwear brand to one of the most formative writers and gay icons of all time because Leah is “a truth-teller” is…a choice, let’s just say that.
Jules and the Fool
Season 8’s Christmastime trip to Dorinda Medley’s Berkshires estate is the stuff legends are made of. The fighting was nonstop for 24 hours straight. But one wildly under-the-radar moment is when Luann approached Jules Wainstein—who had just been on the phone with her elderly father, who was in the hospital with pneumonia—to broach the subject of Bethenny Frankel calling her a slut. In her confessional, Jules weighs the gravity of the situation: “Sick dad [or] ‘you’re a slut.’ OK, I guess I’ll talk to you about being a whore.”
Ramona Has a Blind-Off
In Season 2, Ramona and Jill Zarin attend a swanky Hamptons party, where Ramona meets former governor of New York, David Paterson. Paterson was quite famously legally blind, a fact that prompts Ramona to compare his blindness to how hard it is for her to see without corrective lenses. As Jill famously says, “I wanted to die!”
The Royal Wars
During Season 5’s trip to London, Countess Luann couldn’t help herself from one-upping Princess Carole Radziwill. When Carole finally has enough, she tries to give Lu a taste of her own medicine by making everything Luann says about herself. Unfortunately for Carole, it all went right over Luann’s pumpkin head (Carole’s words, not mine!).
Designed to Scare
Luann has never been particularly good at repartee, but no one can deny her perfect slight at the clunky wedges Alex McCord wore in Morocco. “You came in, in your Herman Munster shoes...” Luann says. “They’re Louis Vuitton shoes,” Alex quickly interjects. But Lu twists the knife with one comment Alex just can’t come back from: “Well, even Louis Vuitton makes mistakes!”
Dining on Scary Island
Season 3’s trip to St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands is the stuff of reality television legends. All three episodes of the trip are filled with pure chaos, but perhaps none more so than Bethenny reaching her boiling point with Kelly. Kelly talks herself in circles while shoveling jelly beans into her mouth, until Bethenny finally has enough, screaming: “Go to sleep, go to sleep!” It’s both wildly funny and incredibly dark—RHONY’s secret recipe for greatness.
Aviva’s Awful Anniversary
Aviva and her husband Reid’s anniversary party in Season 5 was a wild affair. The soiree was the first and only event planned by Sonja’s events company, “Sonja In the City” (in quotes because I doubt any LLC paperwork was ever filed), and it was a mess from the jump. Aviva took a tumble, Heather and Ramona argued, and Sonja hired a very strange singer named Cara Quici to perform a sexy, gyrating pop song for her very conservative friend’s wedding anniversary.
Central Park Overheats
Luann and Ramona’s argument in Central Park is an underrated moment that has slowly found reverence among fans. Luann accuses Ramona of blackmailing her during the break between filming Seasons 4 and 5, while Ramona basically calls Luann a terrible mother before going on a tangent about her gel manicure. An aghast Luann can only manage one sentence: “What other tricks do you have up your Pinot-filled hat?”
Lady Morgan Greets Her Subjects
At a swanky Hamptons power lunch in Season 7, Dorinda, Ramona, and Sonja sit down to discuss the current friendship dynamics. After their waitress takes their individual orders, she extends her hand to collect the group’s menus. Sonja then reaches out to the server as if she was British royalty, expecting a kiss on the hand and a curtsy. “Sonja extends her hand as if she’s the Queen Mother,” Dorinda says, surely getting the absolute correct first impression of her new friend.
An Eye For An Eye, A Leg for A Leg
No list of the best RHONY moments could possibly be complete without the leg throw that launched a thousand gifs. After spending two seasons talking about how she didn’t want to be reduced to her prosthetic leg, Aviva lost the plot, and slammed her prosthesis on the table before throwing it across a restaurant. Aviva revealed in the RHONY 100th Episode special that the whole thing was pre-planned, but she nevertheless had a hand—sorry, a leg—in creating one of the most memorable scenes in reality TV history. And that’s a tall order, considering that RHONY is chock-full of outrageous scenes that are as incredible as they are indelible.
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